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<title>Great Great Great Aunt Adler by Clamour_for_Glamour</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29830812">Great Great Great Aunt Adler</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clamour_for_Glamour/pseuds/Clamour_for_Glamour'>Clamour_for_Glamour</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Family History, Mentioned Irene Adler, Nude Photos</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:08:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>456</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29830812</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clamour_for_Glamour/pseuds/Clamour_for_Glamour</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Great Great Great Niece or Nephew or Nibling of Irene Adler is looking around in the attic of their grandmother's house when they find an envelope of photographs labelled 1880-1895.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein and hereditary King of Bohemia, Irene Adler / Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Great Great Great Aunt Adler</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I was rummaging through the attic of my grandmother's house, mostly out of curiosity because it was raining, when I found the envelope marked 1880-1895. It wasn't sealed, so I opened it and had a quick glance at the photos inside. They mostly seemed to be studio portraits of the same woman, with what were perhaps a couple of holiday shots. I took them down to the kitchen to show my mother. </p><p>She looked carefully at the first couple before realisation dawned.</p><p>"That's my great, great aunt Irene. She died in her nineties, when I was quite young. She was an opera singer and, according to my grandmother, quite an adventuress when she was younger. Apparently at one point a detective threatened to set fire to her house. She always used to say that she'd had the chance to marry a king, but loved uncle Godfrey more. I don't think I ever met him." </p><p>She turned a photo toward me, a formal portrait with Irene in the huge sleeves of the 1890s while Godfrey stood behind her. His face seemed to consist largely of moustache.  </p><p>My mother had been flicking through the rest of the photos while I looked, and suddenly sputtered,</p><p>"That's not uncle Godfrey!" </p><p>She laid the photo on the tabletop and dissolved into laughter. The image showed two figures which were, shall we say, romantically intertwined in a position which would have been awkward to hold for long. Their faces, and indeed many other parts, were perfectly clear. I turned the photo over.<br/>
Wilhelm, 1883 was written on the back in faded ink. </p><p>"Well." I said, blushing but unable not to laugh. "At least they both look like they're enjoying themselves." </p><p>My mother choked on her coffee. </p><p>There were a couple more photos of Irene and the mysterious Wilhelm, one of them in front of what I recognised as the opera house in Vienna. On the off chance that he had been another singer, I posted that photo in a handful of facebook groups dedicated to European history, opera, and the arts in general.<br/>
Does anyone know who the man on the left is? This was taken in 1883. The lady on the right is my great-great-great aunt Irene Adler, who was working as a soprano with the opera at the time. I wondered if he was a performer too? Just curiosity, as I know these two were "Very Good Friends" before she got married. </p><p>The first reply I got I thought was a joke. But when three or four people had answered on different groups, I looked it up. The mysterious Wilhelm was actually Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein and hereditary King of Bohemia.</p><p>Well done, Aunt Irene.</p>
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